And the winner is...... "Hung".... the new Top Chef....

I am soooooo disappointed....

The Finale was fabulous.... Dale, Casey and Hung all struggled with the altitude. The guest chefs Rocco Dispirito, Todd English, and Michelle Bernstein, were an unexpected treat. Somehow, they seemed more personable than usual, and their comments were so insightful. Dale and Casey cooked with such passion and creativity.

I favored anyone over Hung. Let me explain...

I cook. I cook because I love it. I love the adventure of creating new dishes for my family. I love the taste of the food I have cooked. I love knowing that what I cook is healthier than what I can buy already made. I have a passion for food and for cooking food and for creating recipes and I love to watch the various cooking shows where chefs display that same passion.

That passion I never saw in Hung. Technique...yes. He is a technically well trained chef. As he should be, given his background... he seems to have been raised in the kitchen of one restaurant or another... taught by relatives from childhood. He also seemed driven throughout this competition to win in order to impress his family.

While other contestants strove to improve themselves, Hung denied the need for improvement. Many of his offerings were mediocre and boring, even if prepared well. If he did not win an event... it was somehow someone else's fault. He was arrogant and showed such poor sportmanship throughout the competition that I thought many times he should be eliminated just for that.

In short.... although he showed the technical ability of a Top Chef... he never showed the heart of one.

You will find links to the online episodes here:

http://cheap.cheap.ink.googlepages.com/home

Look in the Great Links section.

Angel